
What is the Ho Chunk tribe called now?
Formerly known as the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe, they changed their name to "Ho-Chunk Nation" to take back their traditional Siouan name. They also call themselves Wonkshieks – "First People of the Old Island".
What does Ho Ho Chunk mean?
Ho-Chunk. The winter feast was a clan ceremonial intended to increase war and hunting powers; the spring Buffalo Dance was a magical ceremonial for calling the bison herds.
Where did the Ho-Chunk tribe live?
(Show more) Ho-Chunk, also called Ho-Chungra or Winnebago, a Siouan -speaking North American Indian people who lived in what is now eastern Wisconsin when encountered in 1634 by French explorer Jean Nicolet. Settled in permanent villages of dome-shaped wickiups (wigwams), the Ho-Chunk cultivated corn (maize), squash, beans, and tobacco.
What did the Ho-Chunk do for a living?
They used most parts of the game for tools, binding, clothing, and coverings for dwellings. They were responsible for the survival of the families, caring for the children as well as elders. The main role of the Ho-Chunk man was as a hunter – and a warrior when needed.

What did the Winnebago tribe live in?
The Winnebago lived in the vicinity of Green Bay in northeastern Wisconsin. The most powerful tribe in the region, they dominated the western shore of Lake Michigan from Upper Michigan to southern Wisconsin.
Where is the Ho-Chunk tribe located?
eastern WisconsinHo-Chunk, also called Ho-Chungra or Winnebago, a Siouan-speaking North American Indian people who lived in what is now eastern Wisconsin when encountered in 1634 by French explorer Jean Nicolet.
Did the Ho-Chunk farm?
'It's a pretty monumental step': Tribal farm reclaims land on Winnebago Reservation. It wasn't always this way. Once the Ho-Chunk people had vast lands upon which they planted corn, beans and squash and hunted deer and buffalo.
Does the Ho-Chunk tribe still exist?
Today there are two federally recognized tribes of Ho-Chunk people, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
What language do Ho-Chunk speak?
The Ho-Chunk language (Hoocąk, Hocąk), also known as Winnebago, is the traditional language of the Ho-Chunk (or Winnebago) nation of Native Americans in the United States. The language is part of the Siouan language family, and is closely related to the languages of the Iowa, Missouri, and Oto.
Who owns Ho-Chunk?
Ho-Chunk Nation of WisconsinThe casino is owned by the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin....Ho-Chunk Casino.Ho-Chunk Gaming - Wisconsin DellsCasino typeNative American gambling enterprisesOwnerHo-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin4 more rows
What do Ho-Chunk call themselves?
The Ho-Chunk call themselves Ho-chungra, which means "people of the parent speech," or "people of the Big Voice." Historical and linguistic evidence supports these oral traditions, particularly for the Missouri, Iowa, and Oto tribes.
How do you pronounce Ho-Chunk?
6:097:29WPT In Wisconsin - Ho-Chunk Language - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd if Kafka is like moving so moving pictures. And a coke is a box. So boxer moving pictures in theMoreAnd if Kafka is like moving so moving pictures. And a coke is a box. So boxer moving pictures in the dells high school classroom where the box with moving pictures offers. Learning by hearing.
How big is the Ho-Chunk tribe?
Today, there are approximately 8,000 Ho-Chunk Nation citizens living in the five districts of the Ho-Chunk Nation as well as living throughout the United States and the world.
Where are the Ho-Chunk tribes?
The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, which at one time consisted primarily of tribal members spread over 13 counties of Wisconsin, have a historical territorial claim in an area encompassed by a line from Green Bay to Long Prairie to St. Louis to Chicago. Some in the federal and state governments have undermined the Ho-Chunk land claims; however, repatriation activities document where many villages once stood.
How many people are in the Ho-Chunk tribe?
Today the total population of the Ho-Chunk people is about 12,000. Through a series of moves imposed by the U.S. government in the 19th century, the tribe was relocated to reservations increasingly further west: in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and finally Nebraska.
What is the name of the tribe that changed their name to "Ho-Chunk Nation"?
Formerly known as the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe, they changed their name to "Ho-Chunk Nation" to take back their traditional Siouan name. They also call themselves Wonkshieks – "First People of the Old Island.". They are the larger of the two tribes.
What are the languages of the Ho-Chunk?
Languages. English, Hocąk. Religion. Native American Church, Christianity. Related ethnic groups. Iowa, Otoe, and Missouria. The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago, are a Siouan -speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Today, Ho-Chunk people are enrolled in two ...
When did the Ho-Chunk Nation claim the Badger Army Ammunition Plant?
In 1988 , the Ho-Chunk Nation filed a timely claim for transfer of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP), which was to be declared surplus under federal regulations. As part of their former traditional territory, the property holds historical, archeological, sacred, and cultural resources important to their people.
Who sold land to Ho-Chunk Gaming?
Ho-Chunk Gaming Tomah, and. Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison. In February 2013, the Beloit Common Council sold land to the Ho-Chunk Nation for a proposed casino. The council has used revenues to enhance infrastructure, healthcare, and educational support for its people.
Where is Hochungra in Nebraska?
A small plot of off-reservation land of 116.75 acres (0.4725 km 2) is in southern Craig Township in Burt County, Nebraska. The total land area is 457.857 km² (176.78 sq mi). They also call themselves Hochungra – "People of the Parent Speech," which resembles the Ho-Chunk of the Nebraska branch of the Winnebago.
Where is the Ho-Chunk Nation located?
The Ho-Chunk Nation is not located on a reservation or a single continuous land base in Wisconsin, but rather, the Ho-Chunk Nation owns land in 14 counties in Wisconsin, including Adams, Clark, Crawford, Dane, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Sauk, Shawano, Vernon and Wood Counties and also land in the State of Illinois.
How many clans are there in Ho-Chunk Nation?
The Ho-Chunk Nation is comprised of twelve clans, or family groups, in two distinct moieties — Those-who-are above (Thunder, Warrior, Eagle and Pigeon), and Those-who-are-on-earth (Bear, Buffalo, Deer, Wolf, Elk, Fish, Water Spirit, and Snake) — each with distinct responsibilities such as judicial matters, health and safety, and civic governance.
When did Ho-Chunk end?
Like many First Nations, the Ho-Chunk are focused on language renewal and revitalization following the end of federal assimilation policy in 1975 and after the closing of eleven assimilative boarding schools in Wisconsin, including in Tomah and Wittenberg.
Where are the Ho-Chunk tribes?
The other federally recognized tribe of Ho-Chunk people is the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska . The tribe separated when its members were forcibly relocated first to an eastern part of Iowa known as the Neutral Ground, then to Minnesota, South Dakota and later to the current reservation in Nebraska.
What is the Ho-Chunk Nation?
The Ho-Chunk Nation ( Ho-Chunk language: Hocąk) is a federally recognized tribe of the Ho-Chunk with traditional territory across five states in the United States: Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri . The other federally recognized tribe of Ho-Chunk people is the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
What language does the Ho-Chunk Nation speak?
The Ho-Chunk Nation speaks Ho-Chunk language ( Hocąk ), which is a Chiwere-Winnebago language, part of the Siouan-Catawban language family. With Hocąk speakers increasingly limited to a declining number of elders, the tribe has created a Language Division within the Heritage Preservation Department aimed at documenting and teaching the language. The division has developed a community outreach program for language revitalization, a Language Apprenticeship Program, and "EeCoonį". This program is operated at Christmas Mountain in Wisconsin Dells; it immerses young children in the language with the help of language instructors, eminent speakers, and language apprentices, among other efforts.
What was the Ho-Chunk's major ceremonial?
The Ho-Chunk held many ceremonies. The major summer ceremonial was the Medicine Dance, which included a secret ceremony for members of the Medicine Dance Society, a religious society open to both men and women, as well as public rituals.
Where is the Ho-Chunk Nation located?
The Ho-Chunk Nation is headquartered in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. With the adoption of its most recent constitution in 1994, which restored the tribe's name for itself, the Ho-Chunk Nation, the modern tribal government structured itself after the federal and state governments, with executive, legislative and judicial branches.
What did women do for hunters?
Women also cooked game and prepared food and meals for the hunters to sustain them while traveling. They also tanned the hides to make clothing and storage bags. Ho-Chunk men were hunters as well as warriors in times of conflict. As hunters, they would catch fish by spearing them and clubbing the fish to death.
What did the Ho-Chunks wear?
Like most Native Americans, the Ho-chunks wore moccasinson their feet. Here is a website with pictures of Native American moccasins. In colonial times, the Ho-chunks adapted European costume like cloth blouses and vests, decorating them with fancy beadwork and ribbon applique.
What did Ho-Chunks use to help them travel?
(There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.) The Ho-chunks used snowshoes to help them travel in the winter. Today, of course, Ho-chunk people also use cars... and non-native people also use canoes.
Where do Ho-Chunk tribes live?
Additionally, large numbers of tribal members live in Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Ho-Chunk Nation is the l argest employer in both Sauk and Jackson County employing roughly 3100 people.
How big was the Ho-Chunk Nation?
However, their territory extended from Green Bay, beyond Lake Winnebago to the Wisconsin River and to the Rock River in Illinois, tribal territory was by the Treaty of 1825, 8.5 million acres.
What was the name of the tribe that landed at Red Banks?
For some 360 years, this nation was labeled as the Winnebago Tribe by the French. In November 1994, the official results of the Ho-Chunk Nation secretarial election were published, approving the revised constitution and the proper name of the nation reverting to the Ho-Chunk (People of the Big Voice) which they have always called themselves, thus establishing the Ho-Chunk Nation. The exact size of the Ho-Chunk Nation was not historically documented at the time. However, their territory extended from Green Bay, beyond Lake Winnebago to the Wisconsin River and to the Rock River in Illinois, tribal territory was by the Treaty of 1825, 8.5 million acres.
How many legislative powers does the Ho-Chunk Nation have?
Acquire or purchase land. There are a total of 24 legislative powers. The HCN Legislature holds bi-monthly legislative meetings and monthly district meetings. Article VI, Executive Branch power: Is vested in the President of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
How long is the term of the Ho-Chunk?
The terms of the president and legislature are four years and the chief justice of the Supreme Court has a six-year term. Terms are staggered.
What is the story of the people of Wisconsin?
Their story is the story of a people who loved the land of Wisconsin. In the last 170 years they faced tremendous hardship and overcame long odds to live here. Their troubles began in the late 1820's when lead miners began to come into southwestern Wisconsin.
What are the administrative departments of Ho-Chunk Nation?
Composed of any administrative departments created by the legislature, at present consists of Administration, Business, Education, Health, and Social Services, Heritage Preservation, Housing, Justice, Personnel, and Treasury. Execute and administer all laws of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Where did the Ho-Chunk tribe originate?
The oral traditions of the tribe state that the Ho-chunk originated at the Red Banks on Green Bay. Other tribal traditions relate how tribes such as the Quapaw, Missouri, Iowa, Oto, Omaha, and Ponca were once part of the Ho-chunk, but these other tribes continued to move farther west while the Ho-chunk stayed in Wisconsin.
Where did the squid live?
At that time, they were living in the area around Green Bay of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, reaching beyond Lake Winnebago to the Wisconsin River and to the Rock River in Illinois. It is estimated that their population was as much as 20,000.
How did the Algonquian people recover?
The population of the people gradually recovered, aided by intermarriage with neighboring tribes and with some of the French traders and trappers. They borrowed a number of Algonquian customs and traditions and entered into the fur trade. They continued to have gardens but relied more and more on hunting and trapping.
When did the Algonquian people return to their homeland?
When peace was established between the French and Iroquois in 1701, many of the Algonquian peoples returned to their homelands to the east, and the Ho-Chunk were relieved of the pressure on their territory. After 1741, while some remained in the Green Bay area, most returned inland.

Overview
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as Hotúŋe in the neighboring indegenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Today, Ho-Chunk people are enrolled in two federally recognized tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the Winnebago Tribe …
Name
The Ho-Chunk speak a Siouan language, which they believe to be given to them by their creator, Mą’ųna (Earthmaker). Their native name is Ho-Chunk (or Hoocạk), which has been variously translated as "sacred voice" or "People of the Big Voice", meaning mother tongue, as in they originated the Siouan language family. They usually refer to themselves as Hoocąk-waaziija-hači meaning "sac…
History
Ho-Chunk oral history states they had always lived in their current homelands of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Their Siouan language indicates common origin with other peoples of this language group. They state their ancestors built the thousands of effigy mounds through Wisconsin and surrounding states during the Late Woodland period.
Culture
Before Europeans ventured into Ho-Chunk territory, the Ho-Chunk were known to hunt, farm, and gather food from local sources, including nuts, berries, roots, and edible leaves. They knew what the forest and river's edge had to give and both genders had a role in making best use of resources. With the changing seasons, Ho-Chunk families would move from area to area to find food. For ex…
Ho-Chunk clans
Before the US government removed the Ho-Chunk from their native land in Wisconsin, the tribe consisted of 12 clans (see table).
The clans were associated with animal spirits representing the traditional responsibilities within the nation; each clan had a role in the survival of the people. Like other Native Americans, the Ho-Chunk had rules generally requirin…
Land claims
According to Gordon Thunder (Wakąja) , the Ho-Chunk have been systematically removed from their homelands, many now occupied by other tribes. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, which at one time consisted primarily of tribal members spread over 13 counties of Wisconsin, have a historical territorial claim in an area encompassed by a line from Green Bay to Long Prairie to St. Louis to Chicago. Some in the federal and state governments have undermined the Ho-Chunk lan…
Ho-Chunk people
• Angel De Cora, artist and educator
• Joba Chamberlain, Major league baseball pitcher
• Henry Roe Cloud, born 1884, Yale graduate, educator
• Glory of the Morning, 18th-century chief
See also
• Ho-Chunk mythology
• Winnebago language
• Badger Army Ammunition Plant
• Doty Island
• Native American tribes in Nebraska
Overview
The Ho-Chunk Nation (Ho-Chunk language: Hocąk) is a federally recognized tribe of the Ho-Chunk with traditional territory across five states in the United States: Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri. The other federally recognized tribe of Ho-Chunk people is the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. The tribe separated when its members were forcibly relocated first to an eastern p…
Government
The Ho-Chunk Nation is headquartered in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. With the adoption of its most recent constitution in 1994, which restored the tribe's name for itself, the Ho-Chunk Nation, the modern tribal government structured itself after the federal and state governments, with executive, legislative and judicial branches. Executive and legislative members are elected. All of the tribe's members make up the fourth branch of government, the general council.
Culture
The Ho-Chunk cultivated a variety of agricultural products for subsistence, including corn, squash, beans, and other products. They stored these in fiber bags and pits dug in the ground for winter use. They traveled up the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to hunt both small and large game, crossed the Mississippi to reach the prairies to hunt buffalo, and also fished in nearby rivers and lakes.
History
The Ho-Chunk Wazijahaci have an extensive oral history and tradition that dates back thousands of years. Some of their stories refer to their people living through three ages.
Oral history suggests some of the tribe may have been forcibly relocated up to 13 times by the US federal government to steal land through forced treaty cession, losses estimated at 30 million acres in Wisconsin alone. In the 1870s, a majority of the tribe returned to their homelands in Wis…
Notable tribal members
• Glory of the Morning (died c. 1832), tribal leader
• Truman Lowe (b. 1944), artist, curator, professor
• Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. (1924–1950), US Marine, decorated veteran of the Korean War
See also
• Ho-Chunk
• Ho-Chunk Language
• Ho-Chunk mythology
• Ho-Chunk religion
Further reading
• Jones, Tom; et al. (2011). People of the Big Voice: Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families by Charles Van Schaick, 1879–1942. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0870204760.
External links
• Official website